Man charged after CHP chase leads to fatal crash in San Jose

Sean Bouvier, 34, was arraigned Aug. 19 in Santa Clara County Superior Court on charges related to fatal crash after he attempted to elude California Highway Patrol officers in San Jose, officials said.

Photo: San Jose Police Department /

The driver of a vehicle that allegedly evaded California Highway Patrol officers during a chase in San Jose faces multiple felony charges after his passenger was killed in a fatal crash, officials said Monday.

Sean Bouvier, 34, of San Jose was charged with two felony counts for eluding a pursuing peace officer causing death of another person and vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, according to the Santa Clara County district attorney’s office.

The pursuit began last Wednesday around 2:08 a.m. on northbound Highway 87 at Curtner Avenue, according to San Jose police. The vehicle exited eastbound and lost CHP officers near Curtner Avenue and Monterey Road, before crashing nearby on the north side of Tully Road east of the intersection with Monterey.

“The vehicle first collided into a light pole, then through a chain-link fence and finally into a parked truck trailer,” police said in a statement.

Bouvier’s passenger, 33-year-old Christopher Rodden, of San Jose, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.

Pete Grieve is a reporting intern on the metro team. He is a recent graduate of the University of Chicago, where he studied political science and worked as editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, The Chicago Maroon.